Lulu Mohapatra joins chorus against Odisha PCC chief Jayadev Jena

Reported by Chinmaya Dehury
Bhubaneswar, Aug 30:

Lending his voice to the rising crescendo of fulminations against Odisha PCC president Jayadev Jena, senior Congress leader Lalatendu Bidyadhar (Lulu) Mohapatra today supported the allegation of former PCC president Niranjan Patnaik that tickets were sold by the state leadership during the twin polls held in the state in April this year.

“Allegations of sale of party tickets have come from everywhere. Many candidates have gone public directly accusing the leadership. Cases have also been lodged in police stations saying they were denied tickets after they failed to pay money to the leaders to buy party tickets,”  Mohapatra told media persons here today.

With one leader after another coming out openly against the Jena, the noose appears to be tightening around the beleaguered PCC president’s neck. But Jena has chosen not to speak on the issue stating that everyone had already presented their viewpoints before the AICC general secretary BK Hariprasad during the two-day long introspection meeting that concluded on Friday.

Former PCC president Niranjan Patnaik, it may be noted, had yesterday demanded an inquiry into allegations that Congress tickets were auctioned to the highest bidders during the last elections.

“There are allegations that Congress tickets were sold during the elections in the state. This is a shame for the party. So, I would request the AICC to conduct an inquiry to find out the truth and present it before the public. If such a thing has not happened, then our honour will remain intact. If not, the reputation of the party would suffer immensely,” said Patnaik.

He demanded strong action against the persons who have allegedly sold tickets to aspirants of Congress tickets during the elections.